From Disks to Planets Through the Astrochemical Lens

Seminar Date:

16 Dec 2016 - 11:00

Speaker:

lse Cleeves

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

During the first few Myr of a young, Sun-like star's life, it is encircled by a disk made up of molecular gas, dust, and ice. These materials form the building blocks for future planetary systems. Improvements in observational spatial resolution and sensitivity have allowed us to characterize the protoplanetary disk environment in great detail. Recent interferometric observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) have shed light on disks' chemical composition and the structure of their rocky/solid and gaseous components, which together feed young terrestrial and gas giant planets. I will discuss recent results regarding the impact of dust evolution and new puzzles regarding our understanding of protoplanetary disk chemical and structural evolution, along with future avenues to detect individual young planets forming in situ.